Hi there, first I hope I don’t offend anyone since this is not meant to be a bash on anyone and it’s just reflecting my personal feelings. But I assume I will get attacked anyways.
So I’m a 21 year old from Germany and we don’t have many people with darker skin shades here but the few I know who also grew up here are just like any other German and talk/behave the exact same way as every other German and also seem to be perceived like a normal German. Maybe some people might naturally be kinda surprised by people having darker skin since it’s more rare but I feel like people just perceive the different skin shade the same way they perceive different hair and eye color.
But from America I noticed that many people constantly call them “black” or “white” people and make a big thing about it as if they were a different race (and of course we scientifically know that there’s only one human race). And it seems like many Americans identify with that so much that they separated and developed different cultures, behavior and way of talking solely based on their skin shade even though they’re born and raised in the same country.
I know that there was slavery and segregation in America based on exactly this in the past but this is over and we’re living in 2025 now which is why I wonder if this is still appropriate and contemporary.
Because to me personally this kinda feels like America is still stuck in those slavery/segregation times and it makes me feel very uncomfortable every time I hear this “black” and “white” stuff which is becoming constant since American media is everywhere. And I feel like this is also influencing people overseas like here where especially younger people in cities adopt this American mindset and I’ve even seen some using the N-Word etc.
When I grew up I never even had a concept of “different skin colors” because it just felt normal that people naturally look different and I still think like this about people and see it the same way as people having different hair and eye color but I can tell that these racist ideologies are doing something to me.
Lol someone already posted this, was that you?
I’m gonna copy paste my reply again:
I don’t really see this, in my area at least. Other people’s experience will vary. I notice my white and black clasmates get along very well. Hate is not born, it’s taught. I think this “divide” is more in rural areas. I’m in Philly and it’s a very diverse city, racism between white and black kids are almost non-existent (or at least I never witnessed any actual racism between white kids and black kids beyond the kids being “edgy” with their “dark humor”). I mean like, I never heard a white kid said the N word with the hard R.
I did, however, notice a lot of kids making racist “jokes” against me (For context: I was born in PRC, and immigrated to the US). Like white kids and black kids would both make jokes like “Chinese language probably sounds like ‘Chng Chng’” and then they both laugh at the “joke” I’m just like wtf dude. Luckily, as you go up higher in the grade level, the less racist people seem to be.
For context, my high school was like (approximately): 30% White, 20% Black, maybe like 15% Latino, 30% Asian.
Now, the school was very shitty, there were bullying everywhere. But bullying usually wasn’t based on race.
And despite the racism that I personally have faced, I do have some Chinese-American classmates who were born here in the US, and they seem to get along with everyone else well, so I’m guessing I’m just not “Americanized” enough and its more like Xenophobia more than Racism/Sinopobia. I’m don’t use an “American” name so I guess that’s is one of the major reasons why I get targed for racism but others who look just like me don’t get targeted.
Now, to be clear, that’s not to say there aren’t racism between white people and black people. I’m not downplaying racism, I’m just saying I’m lucky to live in a place where the racism is very minimal. There are probably some racists in certain neighborhoods in Philly. I did see some trump flags when traveling around the city, so those people definitely exist. But my point is that its so rare and so socially unacceptable (at least in my city) that I’m having a hard time recalling when I personally witnessed any serious (as in a non-joke) racism between white people and black people happened (I mean, other than on those on the news).
But, outside of my city, especially the rural areas… I don’t have first hand experience, but those are probably not somewhere a racial minority would want to go to. And I personally would NEVER go to any republican dominated area.
Edit: In response to this part
If you hear kids saying the n word ending with the “a” its a friendly greeting similar to “homie”. Even a white kid can say it if their black friends is okay with it. However, the “hard-r” the N word ending with the R is not acceptable.
Idk why kids do this, but I guess they are trying to “reclaim” the word. I personally never used any variation these words, because its just wrong, even if its trying to “reclaim” the word or whatever.